Rother urged to join dumped car blitz

Monday's meeting of Rother cabinet is being advised to join Crackdown - which has cleared 2,400 abandoned vehicles in three years.

Director of services Tony Leonard is recommending the cabinet's Monday Town Hall meeting to resolve that chief executive Derek Stevens be authorised to enter into agreement with Sussex Police to take part in Operation Crackdown for three years.

Eighteen months ago a dedicated e-mail link was established between Rother and the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to enable the council to obtain owner and vehicle information to speed the removal of abandoned vehicles.

The turnaround time for vehicle removal was reduced from 21 working days to 10.

Operation Crackdown was the original pilot name for an abandoned vehicle project launched in West Sussex between the police and local authorities to speed removal of abandoned vehicles in public places through partnership working, information-sharing and on-line reporting by the public.

Since September 2001 the project has secured the removal of over 2,400 vehicles and has received over 500 on-line reports. Currently there are reporting links on 12 local authority web sites.

Now Sussex Police has set up a permanent Sussex-wide scheme waste collection and disposal authorities, crime and disorder reduction partnerships, the DVLA, fire brigade and public.

The project is the first of its kind in the UK and is supported by the Home Office.

Police Powers are used to authorise removal. This avoids the need to put removal notices on a vehicle and reduces administrative delay. The time a vehicle remains on the street is reduced. A secure I.T. system enables partner agencies to share information on an electronic hub, allowing rapid police authority for a vehicle's removal. It avoids duplicated work by partners.

"A report of an abandoned vehicle can be made by the public, police or local authority by telephone, post or e-mail and is entered on the central police information hub. The police carry out the relevant checks keeping the hub up to date and reporting vehicle location, condition and keeper.

"On receipt of this information the local authority will inspect the vehicle and advise on its condition etc. and seek police authority to remove.

Joining the system would cost Rother 3,000 a year.

Mr Leonard says: "Participation in the scheme will reduce the number of visits made to a vehicle by our inspectors. Although this may not result in direct financial benefits, the time recovered by our contract compliance officers could for example, be used for additional car park regulation enforcement and this could result in a proportionate increase in income on this activity.

"As vehicles will now be removed under police powers not the provisions of the Refuse Disposal Amenity Act this authority will no longer be able to recover costs from identified owners. This will result in a potential loss of income of 2,300 per annum. Total cost of this scheme will need to be met from efficiencies and reduced levels of service in other areas of the council's provision...

"Operation Crackdown was initially set up in Rother on the basis of a free trial and has successfully displayed considerable benefits where vehicles can be removed quickly under agency powers."

He says there are "significant intangible benefits such as quality of life, a more pleasant appearance to the district, reduction in crime and fear of crime. Perhaps the areas where the hard financial benefits can be clearly identified are in dealing with burn-outs. Swift removal prior to a vehicle being burnt out avoids the need to repair fire-damaged carriageways etc, and to call out the Fire Brigade to deal with an unnecessary incident and costs associated with damage to local authority land all be reduced into meeting the above costs."

Vehicle removal would continue through the current contractor. Cost would remain 30 per car.